A man was found shot to death outside a Brooklyn Center motel early Thursday, his last gasps taken as he pounded on a door near the parking lot, authorities said.

The man’s body was found about 3:30 a.m. in back of the Super 8 on James Circle N., just north of Interstate 694 and east of Shingle Creek Parkway, according to police.

Authorities have yet to release his identity, only saying that he appears to be 20 to 30 years old.

The wounded man got the attention of motel staff members inside as he banged on a door on the southwest side of the motel “asking to come in and he was bloodied,” police Cmdr. Tim Gannon said. Police were called, and they found that he had been shot, Gannon said.

“Officers tried to give lifesaving measures to him, but he passed away at the scene” without saying anything to police, Gannon said.

Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune

Brooklyn Center Police Commander Tim Gannon made his way around a crime scene that spanned a Denny's Restaurant, Days Inn & Suites Hotel, and a Super 8, early Thursday, August 22, 2013 in Brooklyn Center.

Gannon said it appears that the man’s wounds were suffered within a block or so from the motel and that he had come from the direction of a nearby Denny’s restaurant to the south of the Super 8.

A van nearby was closely scrutinized by officers and then towed from the scene. Gannon said he’s not sure whether the van is connected to the victim or any suspect.

Police are asking that anyone with information about the incident to call them at 763-503-3115.